Have you ever felt like a fashion outsider?

[wekilledcouture]

yeah.. when the underwear are longer than the shorts.. something has to change.

 

[666tubeamp]

I feel like an outsider much the time. I'm a regular-in-most-ways married family man and I wear leather pants. Not every day, but a few times per month at least.

For the fashion-forward crowd, I realize that's an "ok...good for you...so what's the big deal?" thing, but most of the world isn't fashion forward. 99.99% of guys wear Dockers to work and jeans for casual wear, and heaven forbid if someone should stray from the crowd. As a result, even though I wear really good leather pants - such as D&G, Versace, Ari Soffer - and accessorize them conservatively in a metro Euro style [not Guns 'N Roses!] I definitely get some looks.

What's more, I find that even if people don't immediately stereotype me as being a wannabe rockstar or someone who frequents fetish clubs, they assume I'm trying to be better than everyone else and am therefore a jerk...In our society, there always has to be some big dramatic reason for doing anything unusual, doesn't there?? Can't win, I guess...

In any case, I guess the lesson is that if one chooses to step out of the mainstream, people are going to make assumptions and they won't generally be favorable. C'est la vie!

 

[Eimii]

Yes, all the time.
I live in a town of about 100,000 people or so, and all the people my age wear leggings as pants with some form of those "trendy" flat worker boots, with a tank top with some form of lace thing over the top. That is literally the uniform! Most people my age will also be head to toe in Topshop... and will only buy things because Topshop "says it's cool".

I am also an outsider because I like to dress clasically, but modern, and nobody, seriously nobody understands that here. If I went into the main shopping bit wearing heels, people would stare and remark to eachother "who does she think she is". It's ridiculous, and here I prefer to see people with no style, in just jeans and a tee than the awful ensembles the "trendy" girls wear..

 

[gimmethatbag]

Yes. I live near a midsize city, in the 'burbs, and there are distinct fashion tribes. If you do not belong to a tribe people freak out. And people worship the "daring" people who dress really really trendy from Urban Outfitters. No one has the money for designers except for the occasional Coach (neither do I, but my point is that they're not exactly cutting edge). I stick out like a sore thumb (an extremely chic, stylish, and unique thumb) and people choose to deal with it by ignoring me, which is funny.

But you know what? I L-O-V-E being a fashion outsider. I wouldn't have it any other way. I crave that feeling of uniqueness and difference, really. It's my drug. I'll be honest.

 

[wekilledcouture]

But you know what? I L-O-V-E being a fashion outsider. I wouldn't have it any other way. I crave that feeling of uniqueness and difference, really. It's my drug. I'll be honest.

im with you, i love it.

 

[Eimii]

gimmethat bag: You are so right about the tribes thing. In my town too, people think the girls who wear head to toe Topshop/look like they have raided UO are so stylish, and it seems like trashy dissheveled looks are the only ones that are commended, and if someone breaks that mould, and wears something "different" they ignore them too!

 

[Drusilla_]

I live in a country that's basically Fashion Nowhere, in a tiny almost-rural suburb, and don't have the money to spend on expensive clothes either, so I've always felt like a "fashion outsider", in every possible way- an outsider both to the regular fashions around me, and an outsider to the fashion world at large.

Basically, what girls wear around here is mainly long flowy tunics over pants, or t-shirts with jeans, and lots of sandals/flip-flops (and maybe Converse low-tops, if they have 'alt' pretensions). When I began college, I was one of the very few girls who wore skirts, but now everyone wears those too- though still with those horrid little fitted t-shirts. It's an eyesore, I tell you. I also wore my dad's old plaid shirt for many years (from 2001 onwards), back when wearing plaid shirts wasn't trendy.

My style's been a cross between ladylike and grungy/super-casual for many years now. I wear the following:
1. t-shirts layered under dresses that would be too revealing without them
2. Men's shirts with pencil skirts/pleated skirts (either short-sleeved, or I roll up the sleeves)
3. Laceup shoes/canvas sneakers for which I change the laces to something more colourful. Sometimes I even wear desert boots/hiking boots
4. Oversized jackets (one of mine is almost like a parka)
5. Blazers/cropped jackets
6. Tights/over-the-knee socks (when the weather is cool enough)
7. Very worn-out loose t-shirts, which I also wear with skirts
8. (recent addition) a pair of olive green 3/4 length cargo pants I've had from the age of 17, which I recently rediscovered- super-grungy, and super-comfortable.

There are other details that I like to dabble in, like ties, hair decorations, braces etc, that most girls around here don't even consider a possibility, too.

I honestly think I'd rather go naked than wear what most girls around me like to wear. All those years when I felt like an outsider because my body began going through puberty when all the other girls around me weren't, have left their mark- I couldn't dress like them when I was younger because it was physically impossible (one could say), and now I can't do it because I'm just so used to not being dressed like people around me. If anyone attempts to give me a long tunic or a pair of flip-flops, chances are I'll burn them . I'm ok with my outsider-ness now, and frankly, it's a slight source of pride to me knowing that I'm not one of the fashion sheep.

Also, I think I'm perceived as generally 'weird'/intimidating, and I must admit I probably do a lot to encourage it . Girls walking around in stompy hiking boots and men's shirts with messy hair isn't really considered very 'feminine', haha!

 

[gimmethatbag]

gimmethat bag: You are so right about the tribes thing. In my town too, people think the girls who wear head to toe Topshop/look like they have raided UO are so stylish, and it seems like trashy dissheveled looks are the only ones that are commended, and if someone breaks that mould, and wears something "different" they ignore them too!

That's exactly how it is! They are just so painfully trendy, but those are the ones who get Best Style or Most Stylish in the yearbook awards.

 

[Over the Sea]

well, I don't know if this counts but I used to wear my dads t-shirt and sweaters when I was a kid.
my style is different from all of my friends now, but I don't care they have bad style anyways

 

[alexwestenberg]

Well, in late 2008 I had that "emo-skater-wannabe-kid"-period as well. Meaning that my wardrobe was full of Drop Dead shirts, skinny jeans and I dyed my hair completely black. Ugh, I still regret that time, but I used to find it cool back then and I was 14, so I guess it is excuseable.

 

[Girl About Town]

I do quite often. Lots of my friends/other people around here are students or ex students (as am I) and really like to dress in that slouchy stereotypical student way, apart from when they go out, when they get dressed up to the extreme. I quite like a ladylike look all the time and enjoy making an effort just for every day.

 

[Heroin_Chic]

I feel like a "fashion outsider" everyday in University. I seriously DON`T overdo my style and I don`t bare much skin but I dress trendy and stylish (for MYSELF, my taste and because looking good shows respect for the envionment!). Still I stand out of the 99% girls who don`t wear anything but jeans, sneakers and plain tops.

Just because it`s University doesn`t mean you should go "trashcan-casual"!

It doesn`t feel good to "stand out" though...I don`t have much friends there because I seem to be looked upon as "arrogant". I find it interesting that the non-stylish people seem to be the superficial ones that judge people by their style - not the other way around!

 

[SlovesNY]

^yeah I know,
when you don't wear jeans all day you're basically an outsider these days. Jeans can look good but I feel very fat and manly in them. Jeans is just not a good choice for me...
Sometimes I see people stare at me and then I start wondering if my style is 'different' (I wear a lot of vintage and especially dressed with heavy prints on them). But I get a lot of compliments from my best friends too and they dress all so good (NOT jeans) so that's the most important thing for me. With them I don't feel like I'm dressed different...

 

[tullepen]

My whole I've been The Outsider/Weird one. I think quality clothes,simple silhouettes, beautiful colors and timeless pieces are more worthwhile than trends.I've never understood cool,and when people started describing my style as cool I was shocked.I've been so influenced by Audrey Hepburn: tailored capris,simple skirts,boatneck tees,a beautiful shirt or tailored shirtwaist dress. I don't wear bright colors at all, instead muted ones,and never heels, as I am tall.
So yeah I AM an outsider where I live,everyone wears short shorts,unflattering tube tops,huge clunky black slippers, tights and skinny jeans. haha

 

[Heroin_Chic]

Great to see that I at least fit in here!

 

[Petit Lucille]

im with you, i love it.

me three. AAAAAAAAlways been an outsider everywhere.